"Thracians" also refers to modern inhabitants of Thrace, regardless of ethnicity. Albanian (sq ''Gjuha shqipe'' ˈɟuha ˈʃcipɛ is an Indo-European language spoken by nearly 6 million peoplewhile others claim that it derives from Daco - The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic) are a branch of the Indo-European language family The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and its subfamily Indo-Iranian. The Italic subfamily is a member of the Indo-European language family's Centum branch The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) a group of closely related Languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages The Anatolian languages are a group of extinct Indo-European languages which were spoken in Asia Minor, the best attested of them being the Hittite language The Paleo-Balkan languages were the Indo-European languages that were spoken in the Balkans in Ancient times. The Dacian language was spoken by the ancient inhabitants of Dacia. The Phrygian language was the Indo-European language of the Phrygians a people from Thrace who later migrated to Asia Minor. The Thracian language was the Indo-European language spoken in ancient times by the Thracians in South-Eastern Europe Tocharian or Tokharian is one of the branches of the Indo-European language family. } Albanians (Shqiptarët are an Ethnic group and a Nation, in the sense of sharing a common Albanian culture speaking the Albanian language The Armenians (Հայեր Hayer) are a Nation and Ethnic group originating in the Caucasus and in the Armenian Highlands A large The Balts or Baltic peoples (People who live by the Baltic Sea) defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European Modern Celts are those peoples who are speakers of Celtic languages, or who consider themselves or have been considered by others to participate in a Celtic culture This is a list of Germanic peoples. Classical philosophy The Greeks assigned names to populations they considered distinct based on the city-state ( The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions The Iranian people are a collection of Ethnic groups defined along linguistic lines as speaking Iranian languages. Latin is the name of various peoples or ethnicities related to the Latium region in the Italian Peninsula, to the Latin language, or to its descendants Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established Luwian (sometimes spelled Luvian) is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic Illyrians has come to refer to a broad ill-defined " Indo-European " group of peoples who inhabited the western Balkans ( Illyria, roughly Ancient peoples of Italy are all those peoples that lived in Italy (including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia) before the Roman domination The Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae ( Old Iranian Sarumatah 'archer' Σαρμάτες The Scythians or Scyths (Σκύθες Σκύθοι were an Iranian speaking people of horse-riding Nomadic pastoralists who dominated the Pontic The Tocharians were the Tocharian -speaking inhabitants of the Tarim basin, making them the easternmost speakers of an Indo-European language in antiquity Indo-Iranian peoples consist of the Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dardic and Nuristani peoples that is speakers of Indo-Iranian languages The Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in the Rigveda are described as semi- Nomadic pastoralists subdivided into temporary settlements ( vish, viś and headed Ancient Iranian peoples who settled Greater Iran in the 2nd millennium BC first appear in Assyrian records in the 9th century BC. The Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE were the speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language, who likely lived around 4000 BC, during the Copper Age and the The society of the Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE existed during the Bronze Age (roughly fifth to fourth millennium BC and has been reconstructed The existence of similarities among the deities and religious practices of the Indo-European (IE peoples allows glimpses of a common Proto-Indo-European The question of the homeland ( Urheimat) of the Proto-Indo-European peoples and their Proto-Indo-European language has been a recurring topic in Indo-European The Kurgan hypothesis (also theory or model) is a model of early Indo-European origins, which postulates that the Kurgan culture of the Pontic steppe The Anatolian hypothesis is also called Renfrew's NDT; it proposes that the dispersal ( Discontinuity) of Proto-Indo-Europeans originated in Neolithic The Armenian hypothesis of the Proto-Indo-European Urheimat, based on the Glottalic theory suggests that the Proto-Indo-European language The Out of India theory ( OIT, also called the Indian Urheimat Theory) is the proposition that the Indo-European language family originated in The Paleolithic Continuity Theory (or PCT,Italian La teoria della continuità) is a Hypothesis suggesting that the hypothetical Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies is a field of Linguistics dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe

The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes who spoke the extinct Thracian language - a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family. According to some definitions an extinct language is a Language which no longer has any speakers, whereas a dead language is a language which is no longer spoken The Thracian language was the Indo-European language spoken in ancient times by the Thracians in South-Eastern Europe Those peoples inhabited the Eastern, Central and Southern part of the Balkan peninsula, as well as the adjacent parts of Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe is a general term that refers to the Geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the European continent. ^[1]

Thracians inhabited the ancient provinces of: Thrace, Moesia, Dacia, Scythia Minor, Sarmatia, Bithynia, Mysia, Macedonia, Pannonia, and other regions on the Balkans and Anatolia. Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe Moesia (Μοισία Moisía; Мизия Miziya; Moesia Мезија Mezija) was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the Dacia, in ancient geography was the land of the Dacians. It was named by the ancient Hellenes ( Greeks) " Getae " Scythia Minor, "Lesser Scythia" (Μικρά Σκυθία Mikrá Skythia) was in ancient times the region surrounded by the Danube at the north and The Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae ( Old Iranian Sarumatah 'archer' Σαρμάτες Description Several major cities sat on the fertile shores of the Propontis (which is now known as Sea of Marmara) Nicomedia, Chalcedon, Cius Mysia (Μυσία was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia (part of modern Turkey) Macedon or Macedonia ( Greek grc Μακεδονία grc-Latn Makedonía) was the name of a kingdom centered in the northern-most Pannonia is an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black This area extends over most of the Balkans region, and the Getae north of the Danube as far as beyond the Bug. The Getae ( Greek: Γέται singular Γέτης was the name given by the Greeks to several Thracian tribes that occupied the regions south of the The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj Boh redirects here see also BOH tea. The Western Bug or Buh is another river which flows from Ukraine through Poland ^[2]. The branch of science that studies the ancient Thracians and Thrace is called Thracology. Thracology is the scientific study of Ancient Thrace and Thracian antiquities and is a regional and thematic branch of the larger disciplines of Ancient history

Origins

The prehistoric origins of the Thracians remain obscure, in absence of written historical records. Evidence of proto-Thracians in the prehistoric period depends on remains of material culture. In addition to its usual meaning in Social science, in Archaeology, the term culture is also used in reference to several related concepts unique to Proto-Thracian tombs can be found dating back to 3000 BC^[3], when what can be termed as 'proto-Thracian' culture began to form. It is generally proposed that a proto-Thracian people developed from a mixture of indigenous peoples and Indo-Europeans from the time of Proto-Indo-European expansion in the Early Bronze Age^[4] when the latter, around 1500 BC, conquered the indigenous peoples^[5]. Neolithic Europe is the time between roughly from 7000 BC (the approximate time of the first farming societies in Greece) to ca The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for

Thracian peltast, fifth to fourth century BC.

Thracian Roman era "heros" (Sabazius) stele. Sabazios is the nomadic horseman and sky father god of the Phrygians and Thracians. A stele (from Greek:, stēlē, ˈstiːli plural stelae,, stēlai, ˈstiːlaɪ also found Latinised singular stela The rider god was holding a lance and rides towards an altar with a snake wound around a tree. The flowing mantle is a permanent attribute of the Thracian rider god over several centuries.

Modern linguistics classifies the Thracians as an Indo-European people who spoke a satemized language, which links them to Albanians, Slavs, Balts and Ancient Iranian peoples. Linguistics is the scientific study of Language, encompassing a number of sub-fields } Albanians (Shqiptarët are an Ethnic group and a Nation, in the sense of sharing a common Albanian culture speaking the Albanian language The Balts or Baltic peoples (People who live by the Baltic Sea) defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European Ancient Iranian peoples who settled Greater Iran in the 2nd millennium BC first appear in Assyrian records in the 9th century BC. It is however disputed whether the satem languages actually descend from a later than PIE ancestor (thus forming a true satem subgroup of Indo-European) or whether satemization was caused by areal contact or parallel evolution. In Linguistics, an areal feature is any typological feature shared by languages within the same geographical area Links to the Greek branch (a centum language) of the Indo-European language family are also being investigated. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly

The ethnonym Thraikios (ancient Greek for Thracian) may have the same etymology as Graikos [2]. An ethnonym ( Gk έθνος ethnos, 'tribe' + όνομα onoma, 'name' is the name applied to a given Ethnic group. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c "Thracians" also refers to modern inhabitants of Thrace, regardless of ethnicity Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time Graikoi originally referred to a Boeotian tribe of Hellenes who became known to the Latins at an early date. Since the time of Homer, some Greeks have called themselves Hellenes ( in Homer "Hellas" (Eλλάς and "Hellenes" were names of The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions Latin is the name of various peoples or ethnicities related to the Latium region in the Italian Peninsula, to the Latin language, or to its descendants

The first historical record about the Thracians is found in the Iliad, where they appear as allies of the Trojans, hailing from Thrace. The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient Troy ( Greek: grc Τροία Troia, also, Ilion; Latin: Trōia, Īlium, Hittite: Wilusa or Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe

Classical period

By the 5th century BC, the Thracian presence was pervasive enough to have made Herodotus (book 5) call them the second-most numerous people in the part of the world known by him (after the Indians), and potentially the most powerful, if not for their disunity. The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash The Thracians in classical times were broken up into a large number of groups and tribes, though a number of powerful Thracian states were organized, such as the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace and the Dacian kingdom of Burebista. The Odrysian kingdom was a union of Thracian tribes that endured between the 5th century BC and the 3rd century BC. The Dacian language was spoken by the ancient inhabitants of Dacia. Burebista, is widely considered to be the greatest king of Dacia. A type of soldier of this period called the Peltast probably originated in Thrace. A peltast ( Ancient Greek: πελταστής was a type of Light infantry in Ancient Greece who often served as Skirmishers

A Thracian coin from Panticapaeum, bearing the inscription ΠΑΝ(ΤΙΚΑΠΑΙΟΝ) and Macedonian symbol of the Vergina Sun inside a diadem. Panticapaeum ( Greek: Παντικάπαιον Pantikápaion) present-day Kerch: an important Greek city and port in Taurica (Tauric Interpretations of the symbol The significance of the Vergina Sun is unclear 2nd century BC.

In that period contacts between the Thracians and Classical Greece intensified which led to strengthening Greek influences in Thracian society, culture and handcrafts. In the context of the art architecture and culture of Ancient Greece, the classical period corresponds to most of the 5th and 4th centuries Because their language had no written tradition, in some regions the Thracian aristocracy and administration adopted Classical Greek for an official language and Thracian merchants utilised it as a 'lingua franca' in their contacts with other tribes and peoples. A lingua franca (from Italian, literally meaning Frankish language, see etymology under Sabir and Italian below is any Language widely As a result a level of Hellenization was observed in the following centuries and it was deeper imposed by the Macedonian conquests over the Thracian territory in 3rd century BC. Hellenization (or Hellenisation) is a term used to describe the spread of Greek culture. Macedon or Macedonia ( Greek grc Μακεδονία grc-Latn Makedonía) was the name of a kingdom centered in the northern-most The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC

Extinction of the ethnicity and language

See also Dacian language, Thracian language. The Dacian language was spoken by the ancient inhabitants of Dacia. The Thracian language was the Indo-European language spoken in ancient times by the Thracians in South-Eastern Europe

The ancient languages of these people had already gone extinct and their cultural influence was highly reduced due to the repeated barbaric invasions of the Balkans by Celts, Huns, Goths, and Sarmatians, accompanied by persistent hellenization, romanisation and later slavicisation. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts The Huns were an early confederation of Central Asian equestrian nomads or semi-nomads with a Turkic core of aristocracy The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s The Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae ( Old Iranian Sarumatah 'archer' Σαρμάτες Hellenization (or Hellenisation) is a term used to describe the spread of Greek culture. In Linguistics, romanization (or latinization, also spelled romanisation or latinisation) is the representation of a Word or Slavicisation is a term used to describe a cultural change in which something non-Slavic becomes Slavic. The ethnic contribution of the Thracian and Daco-Getic population, who had lived on the territory of modern Bulgaria and Romania has been long debated among the scientists during the 20th century. Dacia, in ancient geography was the land of the Dacians. It was named by the ancient Hellenes ( Greeks) " Getae " The Getae ( Greek: Γέται singular Γέτης was the name given by the Greeks to several Thracian tribes that occupied the regions south of the Some recent genetic studies suggest that these peoples have indeed made a significant contribution to the genes of these nations. [3] After they were subjugated by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great and consecutively by the Roman empire, most of the Thracians eventually became Hellenised^[6] (in the province of Thrace) or Romanised (in Moesia, Dacia, etc. Hellenization (or Hellenisation) is a term used to describe the spread of Greek culture. Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe In Linguistics, romanization (or latinization, also spelled romanisation or latinisation) is the representation of a Word or Moesia (Μοισία Moisía; Мизия Miziya; Moesia Мезија Mezija) was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the Dacia, in ancient geography was the land of the Dacians. It was named by the ancient Hellenes ( Greeks) " Getae " ). The Romanised tribes of Dacia later became the ethnic substratum of the Vlach people (that first appeared in historical documents in the 10th century) who evolved into modern Romanians. Vlachs is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe The Romanians (dated Rumanians or Roumanians; Romanian: români or historically and today rather seldom and only regional rumâni

In the 6th century some Thracian tribes south of the Danube river made contacts with the invading Slavs and were later Slavicised. The 6th century is the period from 501 to 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj Slavicisation is a term used to describe a cultural change in which something non-Slavic becomes Slavic. Thus they became one of the main ethnic elements in the consolidation of the Bulgarian nation in 8-9th century. The Bulgarians (българи balgari) are a South Slavic people generally associated with the Republic of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian language Linguistic evidence about this is the presence of Thracian and direct Latin loanwords in Old Bulgarian and modern Bulgarian language. "Thracians" also refers to modern inhabitants of Thrace, regardless of ethnicity Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Bulgarian (български език IPA: ɛzˈik is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group

Some scholars have proposed that present-day Albanians may be descendants of Thracian tribes who maintained their language (see also: Albanian Language). The origin of the Albanians has been for some time a matter of dispute among historians Albanian (sq ''Gjuha shqipe'' ˈɟuha ˈʃcipɛ is an Indo-European language spoken by nearly 6 million peoplewhile others claim that it derives from Daco - Bulgarian historians also consider it possible for the Vlach and Karakachani people of Bulgaria to be descendants respectively of Romanised and Hellenised Thracian tribes. The Sarakatsani (Σαρακατσάνοι are a group of Greek transhumant shepherds in Greece. The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian

Coin of Bergaios, a local Thracian king in the Pangaian District. Bergaios or Bergaeus ( Βεργαίος) 400 - 350 BC, was a Thracian king in the Pangaian region. Silver drachma depicting satyr carrying a nymph. In Greek mythology, satyrs (Σάτυροι Satyroi) are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus – " Satyresses quot In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human female form Reverse inscription ΒΕΡΓΑΙΟΥ round quadripartite square, 400 - 350 BC. Events By place Persian Empire Artaxerxes II King of Persia appoints Tissaphernes to take over all the districts in Events By place Persian Empire Sidon, the centre of the revolt against Persia, seeks help from its sister city of Tyre

Archaeology

Further information: Thracian treasure

A gold Thracian treasure from Panagyurishte, Bulgaria

The archaeological research of the Thracian culture started in the 20th century and especially after World War II, mainly on the territory of Southern Bulgaria. The Thracians were skillful craftsmen They made beautifully ornate golden and silver objects such as various kinds of vessels rhytons, facial masks pectorals jewelry weapons Panagyurishte (Панагюрище international transliteration Panagjurište) is a town in Pazardzhik Province, western Bulgaria. The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian "Thracians" also refers to modern inhabitants of Thrace, regardless of ethnicity The twentieth century of the Common Era began on World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian As a result of intensive excavation works in the 1960s and 1970s a number of Thracian tombs and sanctuaries were discovered. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 This article is about the Decade 1970-1979 For the Year 1970 see 1970. More significant among them are: the Tomb of Sveshtari, the Tomb of Kazanlak, Tatul, Seuthopolis, Perperikon, the Tomb of Aleksandrovo, Sarmizegetusa in Romania, etc. The Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari is situated 25 km southwest of the village of Sveshtari, Razgrad Province, which is located 42 km northeast of The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak is a vaulted brickwork "beehive" (tholos tomb near the town of Kazanlak in central Bulgaria. Tatul (Татул the local name for Datura stramonium) is a village in Momchilgrad municipality Kardzhali Province located in the Seuthopolis was an ancient city founded by the Thracian king Seuthes III, and the capital of the Odrysian kingdom since 320 BC The ancient Thracian city of Perperikon (also Perpericon) is located in the Eastern Rhodopes, 15 km northeast of the present-day town of The Aleksandrovo tomb is a Thracian Burial mound and Tomb excavated near Aleksandrovo, South-Eastern Bulgaria, dated to circa Sarmizegetusa (also Sarmisegetusa Sarmisegethusa Sarmisegethuza Ζαρμιζεγεθούσα (Zarmizegethousa Ζερμιζεγεθούση (Zermizegethouse) was the most

Also a large number of elaborately crafted gold and silver treasure sets from the 5th and 4th century BC were unearthed. In the following decades those were exposed in museums around the world, thus gaining popularity and becoming an emblem of the ancient Thracian culture. An emblem is a pictorial Image, abstract or representational that epitomizes a Concept — e Since the year 2000, Bulgarian archaeologist Georgi Kitov has made discoveries in Central Bulgaria which were summarized as "The Valley of the Thracian Kings". 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Georgi Kitov ( Bulgarian: Георги Китов (March 1 1943 – September 14 2008 was a Bulgarian Archaeologist and Thracologist with

On 19 August 2005, some Bulgarian archaeologists announced they had found the first Thracian capital, which was situated near Karlovo in Bulgaria. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Karlovo (Карлово is a picturesque and a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian A lot of polished ceramic artifacts (pieces of roof-tiles and Greek-like vases) were discovered revealing the fortune of the city. The Bulgarian Ministry of Culture declared its support to the excavations.

In Dabene, Bulgaria, a cache of more than 15,000 gold Thracian artifacts were discovered, including thousands of rings. In August 2006 a sensational archaeological find was made near the village of Dubovo. A Thracian dagger made of an alloy of gold and platinum, sharp, and in perfect condition, was found in a tomb near the village of Dubovo. In August 2006 it was announced that a dagger from the 30th century BCE was found in a Thracian tomb by archaeologists digging in Bulgaria, near the village [4]

Sources

The Iliad records that the Thracians from around the Hellespont and also the Thracian Cicones fought on the side of the Trojans (Iliad, book II). The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient See also Dardanelles Hellespont ( Turkish, Greek; ie "Sea of Helle" variously named in classical literature Hellespontium Pelagus The Cicones or Ciconians (Κίκονες were a Thracian tribe whose stronghold in the time of Odysseus was the city of Ismara (or Troy ( Greek: grc Τροία Troia, also, Ilion; Latin: Trōia, Īlium, Hittite: Wilusa or The Odyssey records that Odysseus and his men raided Thrace on their way back home from war. The Odyssey ( Greek: Ὀδύσσεια or Odússeia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. Many mythical figures, such as the god Dionysus, princess Europa and the hero Orpheus were borrowed by the Greeks from their Thracian neighbours. In Classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos (in Greek, Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος; associated with Roman Europa ( Greek Εὐρώπη was a Phoenician woman of high lineage in Greek mythology, from whom the name of the Continent Europe Orpheus ( Greek: Ὀρφεύς ˈɔrfiəs ( OHR-fee-uhs) or /ˈɔrfjuːs/ ( OHR'-fews) in English is a figure from Greek mythology born in

In book 7 of his Histories, Herodotus describes the equipment of the Thracians fighting under the Persians,

The Thracians went to the war wearing the skins of foxes upon their heads, and about their bodies tunics, over which was thrown a long cloak of many colours. Their legs and feet were clad in buskins made from the skins of fawns; and they had for arms javelins, with light targes, and short dirks. This people, after crossing into Asia, took the name of Bithynians; before, they had been called Strymonians, while they dwelt upon the Strymon; whence, according to their own account, they had been driven out by the Mysians and Teucrians. Strymon redirects here For the Strymon Gulf see Strymonian Gulf. The Mysians (Mysi were the inhabitants of Mysia, a region in northwestern Asia Minor. Troy ( Greek: grc Τροία Troia, also, Ilion; Latin: Trōia, Īlium, Hittite: Wilusa or The commander of these Asiatic Thracians was Bassaces the son of Artabanus.

In book 5, Herodotus describes the customs of various Thracian tribes.

The Thracians who live above the Crestonaeans observe the following customs. Each man among them has several wives; and no sooner does a man die than a sharp contest ensues among the wives upon the question which of them all the husband loved most tenderly; the friends of each eagerly plead on her behalf, and she to whom the honour is adjudged, after receiving the praises both of men and women, is slain over the grave by the hand of her next of kin, and then buried with her husband. The others are sorely grieved, for nothing is considered such a disgrace.

The Thracians who do not belong to these tribes have the customs which follow. They sell their children to traders. On their maidens they keep no watch, but leave them altogether free, while on the conduct of their wives they keep a most strict watch. Brides are purchased of their parents for large sums of money. Tattooing among them marks noble birth, and the want of it low birth. To be idle is accounted the most honourable thing, and to be a tiller of the ground the most dishonourable. To live by war and plunder is of all things the most glorious. These are the most remarkable of their customs.

A fresco of a red-haired noble woman in the Ostrusha Mound in central Bulgaria. The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian

The gods which they worship are but three, Mars, Bacchus, and Dian. Their kings, however, unlike the rest of the citizens, worship Mercury more than any other god, always swearing by his name, and declaring that they are themselves sprung from him.

Their wealthy ones are buried in the following fashion. The body is laid out for three days; and during this time they kill victims of all kinds, and feast upon them, after first bewailing the departed. Then they either burn the body or else bury it in the ground. Lastly, they raise a mound over the grave, and hold games of all sorts, wherein the single combat is awarded the highest prize. Such is the mode of burial among the Thracians.

In contrast, the Greek historian Strabo describes the Thracians living in twenty-two tribes. Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. ^[7]

Josephus claims the founder of the Thracians was the biblical character Tiras, son of Japheth:

Thiras also called those whom he ruled over Thirasians; but the Greeks changed the name into Thracians. Josephus (AD 37 – c 100 also known as Yosef Ben Matityahu (Joseph son of Matthias and after he became a Roman citizen, as Titus Flavius Josephus Tiras was according to and Chronicles 1 the last-named son of Japheth who is otherwise unmentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Japheth (ˈdʒeɪfɪθ Hebrew. יפת Greek Ιάφεθ, Iapheth, Latin Iafeth or Iapetus Arabic يافث AotJ I:6.

Physical characteristics of the Thracians

Academic studies have concluded that Thracians had physical characteristics typical of Mediterraneans with dark eyes and hair. According to Dr. Beth Cohen, Thracians had “the same dark hair and the same facial features as the Greeks. ”^[8] Furthermore, Dr. Aris N. Poulianos states that Thracians like modern Bulgarians belong mainly to the Aegean athropological type. Aris Poulianos (born on July 24, 1924 in Ikaria, Greece) is a Greek Anthropologist. ^[9] Recent genetic analysis comparing DNA samples of ancient Thracian individuals with individuals from modern ethnicities place Italian, Albanian and Greek individuals in closer genetic kinship with the Thracian individuals than Romanian and Bulgarian individuals. ^[10]

In contrast, a well-known fragment, Xenophanes comments:

Men make gods in their own image; those of the Ethiopians are black and snub-nosed, those of the Thracians have blue eyes and red hair. Xenophanes of Colophon ( Greek ( 570 – 480 BC was a Greek Philosopher, Poet, and social and religious Critic. This article is about people with red hair also sometimes called redheads

Thracians and Dacians in Roman provinces Thrace, Dacia, Moesia and Macedonia.

The contradiction between the physical characteristics of Thracians deduced from anthropological evidence on one hand, and Xenophanes' description on the other can be accounted for by analysing the uniform Hellas tribal classification perspective regarding 'barbarians' to the north. The Greeks identified themselves as civilized, while those to the north of their classical borders were seen as Barbarians. Greeks attributed differing physical features to the so-called barbarians then they did to themselves. A recent statistical comparison ^[11] of ancient and modern Greek skulls resulted in the discovery of “a remarkable similarity in craniofacial morphology between modern and ancient Greeks. ” Supportive of this study, American anthropologist J. Lawrence Angel ^[12] noted that from the earliest times to the present “racial continuity in Greece is striking. ” Buxton ^[13] who had earlier studied Greek skeletal material and measured modern Greeks, especially in Cyprus, found that the modern Greeks “possess physical characteristics not differing essentially from those of the former [ancient Greeks]. ”

From this evidence, including the cited works by Cohen and Poulianos, it is clear that Ancient Greeks were themselves dark haired/eyed. Thus in order to disassociate themselves from those whom they saw as inferior, Greeks often attributed fair features to the less advanced ethnic groups while idealizing black hair and brown eyes, so-called dark features, by way of poetic words melanan and melampugos that functioned as symbols of strength, civilization and intelligence. ^[14] The academic suggestion is that Greeks looked upon their northern neighbours, the Thracians, as culturally inferior barbarians who were according to the Xenophanes' reference described as having the typical barbarian feature of "purros" meaning red hair and blue eyes. This implies that while the two separate academic studies conducted by Cohen and Poulianos suggest that Thracians have also had dark features, Xenophanes described them as fair, because he was conditioned to view barbarians in general as having such physical traits.

Famous Thracians and Dacians

Thracian tribes & Heroes.

• Amadocus, a king after whom Amadok Point was named. Amadocus I was a Thracian king from 410 BC until the beginning of 4th century Amadok Point (Nos Amadok \'nos a-ma-'dok\ is a point on the south coast of Livingston Island, Antarctica which projects 400 m into the Bransfield Strait

• Burebista was a king of Dacia between 70 BC - 44 BC who united under his rule Thracians in a large territory, from today's Moravia in the West, to the Bug river (Ukraine) in the East, and from Northern Carpathians to Southern Dionysopolis. Burebista, is widely considered to be the greatest king of Dacia. Dacia, in ancient geography was the land of the Dacians. It was named by the ancient Hellenes ( Greeks) " Getae " Year 70 BC was a year of the pre-Julian calendar. Events By place Rome August — In Rome, Cicero prosecutes Year 44 BC was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Moravia (Morava; Morawy Moravie Moravia is a historical region in central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, one of the former Czech lands. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians (Carpaţi Czech, Polish and Slovak: Karpaty; Ukrainian: Карпати Dionysopolis was a town in ancient Moesia at the place of the contemporary Black Sea port of Balchik.

• Sitalces was a king of the Thracian Odrysian state. Sitalces (reigned 431 - 424 BC was one of the great kings of the Thracian Odrysian state The Odrysian kingdom was a union of Thracian tribes that endured between the 5th century BC and the 3rd century BC. An ally of the Athenians during the Peloponnesian war

• Decebalus, a king of Dacia ultimately defeated by the forces of Trajan. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Decebalus or "The Brave One" was a king of Dacia (originally named Diurpaneus &mdashruled the Dacians 87 – 106 and is famous for fighting three Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan ( September 18 53 &ndash August 9 117) was a Roman Emperor who

• Spartacus was a Thracian enslaved by the Romans, who led a large slave uprising in what is now Italy in (73 BC - 71 BC). Spartacus (c 109 BC-71 BC according to Roman historians was a Slave who became the leader (or possibly one of several leaders in the unsuccessful slave Year 73 BC was a year of the pre-Julian calendar. Events By place British Isles Traditional date that Lud became King Events By place Rome Third Servile War ends — Slave uprising under leadership of Spartacus is crushed by a Roman army under Before being defeated, his army of escaped gladiators and slaves defeated several Roman legions in what is known as the Third Servile War. The Third Servile War, also called the Gladiator War and The War of Spartacus by Plutarch, was the last of a series of unrelated and unsuccessful slave

References

• Hoddinott, Ralph F. The Thracians. Thames & Hudson (1981), ISBN 0-500-02099-X.
• Best, Jan and De Vries, Nanny. Thracians and Mycenaeans. E. J. Brill Academic Publishers, Boston, MA. (1989), ISBN 90-04-08864-4.

See also

• Thrace
• Dacia
• Thracology
• List of Thracian tribes
• Odrysian kingdom
• Thracian language
• Thracian mythology
• Cimmerians
• Thraco-Cimmerian
• Thraco-Dacian
• Thraco-Illyrian
• Thraex

External links

• Thrace and the Thracians(700 BC to 46AD)